The Casting

We took Rachel for her consultation and casting at the clinic on Tuesday. It went okay, but Miss Rachel was really not impressed. They told us that she has “moderate” plagiocephaly (abnormal head shape) – I had thought she had a really mild case, but because of her ear-shifting, she’s considered a moderate case. They also told us that the plagiocephaly definitely started in utero, so it was nothing we did that caused it. Fortunately, she will only need to wear the helmet for 6 – 8 weeks because she is so young. However, due to the cost of it, I think I would prefer that she wear it until her 10th birthday!

For some reason, we didn’t take any pictures during the casting of Rachel’s head. Probably because she screamed the entire time and I felt really bad for her. I didn’t want to humiliate her by capturing the event on film – although it would have been good blackmail for the future. Josh did snap a few pictures during her bath when she still had plaster all over her head. Poor thing.

For those interested, the process by which the helmet is constructed is actually kind of neat. First, they make the cast of her head and then use that to create a 3-D model of her head. This 3-D model is then built up and formed to be the shape that we want her head to be. The helmet is constucted from this “perfected” model. Not only will we get to keep her helmet when she’s done with it, but we also get the mold of her head. It comes on a stick. We’re thinking it could be fun around Halloween!